Cuts and Kisses: An Epilogue
by IsaacTheGreat
Summary: A continuation on Cuts and Kisses taking place about a year after the last chapter, highlighting the development of existing relationships and people.
1. Moirailegiance?

**A/N: So I'm back! I've been getting a lot of messages asking for a continuation, and I think it's about time I stop procrastinating on it.**

 **A lot has happened since my final chapter, most of it good, which I'm so glad to be able to say that with complete honesty. I came out as a Trans Male to my friends and some of my family, and while a few family members are having a hard time with it, I'm doing well and their support is such a relief. I've graduated high school and I'm working at my local Macy's, which is okay. I just wish customers treated us as equals, but that's probably not going to happen.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this continuation, I know I will.**

Your name is Dave Strider, and you think you fucked up.

It started as a normal day. You and John were just getting off at Alternia's Cove, sharing stories about shitty customers, and John seemed to be getting pretty upset about this guy he was telling you about.

"I mean, come on, how fucking rude did he have to be? It's not like I actually _know_ the city inside and out just because I work at a fucking coffee shop. I'm a goddamn person too, why do people have to be so shitty?"

You couldn't help but smile as you thought how much Karkat's been rubbing off on John. When you spared him a glance from behind the wheel to see him visibly upset, your smile instantly disappeared, and you're glad you can see the house just down the street.

As you pulled up in the driveway and the both of you exited the vehicle, you walked around to his side and pulled him in a hug.

"Hey, hey. Dude. It's okay; some people are just assholes like that. You matter; you're just as valuable as anyone else, and fuck them if they think any differently." You pulled away to see tears start to spill over, and you frowned.

"Then why am I feeling like a piece of shit? Why can't I believe you when you say I matter? I thought I was over this depression shit but it keeps popping up and I feel so goddamn pathetic!"

Your frown deepened, and you moved your hands to cup his face. "John. You mean so much it's not even fucking describable. Seeing you so upset and hearing how you see yourself hurts me so much, and I wish I could do something to make you believe me when I say that to me, and Karkat, and all of our other friends, you mean the fucking world."

John opened his mouth to say something, but before he could get anything out, you fucked up.

You kissed your best friend.

You didn't mean it romantically; you've completely accepted that Karkat and John are happy together and you don't mind. You just… Wanted to make him smile. You weren't lying when you said those things about his sadness physically hurting you. When he talks down on himself like that, you feel like there's a black hole in your stomach, and you want nothing more than to give him the fucking world and make him happy again.

You just bulldozed right the fuck over any right you had as a friend to be able to comfort him. You took a step back and held your hands up, palms out at him.

"Whoa okay holy shit I did _not_ mean to do that Egs and I am so sorry. Well, I did mean to, but I didn't mean anything romantic by it. It's just that you were so upset and shit and I was thinking 'holy shit rainy cloud on my sunny day, not cool' but what I did was so uncalled for. Go ahead and fuckin hit me man, I so deserve it. I wish you would say somethin, storm into the house, hit me, I don't care, just. _Please_ don't look at me like that."

John had his hands over his mouth in a way that would normally make you laugh, but right now you were just anxious of what they were covering. John walked into the house, barely touching you as he brushed by, and by the time you got in the house, he was in his room.

You're ashamed to say you were too scared to go see him.

Now you sit on the couch, waiting anxiously – which is a word you're using _way too much_ – for Karkat to get home so you can ask him what to do.

As you lament your current situation, you hear the door open and look over to see Karkat closing and locking the door behind him. He takes one look at your shaded face and sits on the couch next to you. You must look as bad as you feel. Karkat levels you with a stare, face carefully blank.

"Spill."

You tell him what happened, what you've been turning over in your head since you sat down, and he sighs.

"Strider, can you do one thing for me? Can you tell me _why_ you did what you did?"

You pause. Thinking back on it, you have no idea why you kissed John. You just… _had_ to do something. To touch him, calm him, hold him, make him better. It was a physical _pull_ in your chest, it pushed you to act, to at least try and help in some way. You look at Karkat helplessly and shrug. He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Dave. Have you ever considered you might be pale for John?" You fell back against the back of the couch. Huh. Pale for John? Who knew?

It took a while for you to come to grips with quadrants, let alone become involved in one with Karkat and be okay with him being in another one with John. You're actually kind of surprised he's acting so calm, now that you think about it. Wasn't he supposed to be in eternal steamy hate with you or something?

"Yeah right," you say out loud. Karkat growls at you. Ah, there it is. "Quit being such an asshole and just come to grips with your fucking feelings, assmunch." You smirk. "What're you gonna do about it, _kitten?_ " His growling pitches up, becomes more intense, then suddenly cuts out, and he sighs again, relaxing into the couch.

"No, okay. We should be focusing on your fucking problems, not getting into concupiscent squabbles. Just… Tell me how you feel about John."

You huff and settle back again. How do you feel about John? "He's…." You try again. "When he's happy, I want to share in his happiness, I love his smile. And… When he's sad… It's like something just dug a fucking trench in my chest." Karkat nods, as if agreeing and you continue with confidence. "All I want to do is make sure he's always smiling. I _need_ him to be okay. He means the fucking world to me, and it physically hurts when he's not shitting sunshine and rainbows. I want to protect him from all the bad shit and I just…. Feel so fucking _much_ that sometimes it's hard to breathe…"

You glance over at Karkat, expecting an angry troll. You _had_ just confessed that you had _some sort_ of feelings for his matesprit, after all. Instead, you see Karkat giving you a smug look, which you match with a confused one. He holds his expression for a minute before letting out an explosive sigh.

"Dave. Those are pale feelings. You're pale for John, dumbass." You stare at him for a moment before what he says registers in your mind and you're up on your feet pacing the living room.

"No. No. We don't. I don't. Quadrants aren't…. I don't _do that_." Karkat is watching you, unamused.

"Well, shitsponge, I'd really hate to break it to you not really, but _we're_ in a quadrant. Or did your infantile think pan manage to forget that fact?"

You decide to ignore him in favor of freaking out internally. You can't be, what, in _pity_ for John, can you? That's not possible. That's not how humans work. Sure, you get the, uh, concupiscent quadrants because it's easy to find someone hot and still want to beat the shit out of them, and matespritship is almost laughably close to "human romance". But the whole…. Pity thing? You ain't about that life.

You're pretty sure Karkat is saying something, but you already decided you were going to ignore him. Unfortunately, that becomes kind of hard to do when he disrupts your pacing by standing right in front of you. He's got that face he makes when he's growling at you like a rabid dog, and usually you'd find it hilarious, but right now it just pisses you off. So, naturally, you do the sane thing and tackle him onto the couch, crushing your mouths together.

The feelings that had started to bubble since the beginning of your conversation come to a head during your heated kiss. Karkat pushes his tongue into your mouth and you pin his wrists above his head in retaliation. Karkat flexes his claws in your grip as his tongue thrashes around harshly against the roof of your mouth. Your tongue pokes at his, teasing him even now, and he bucks against you. His body shifts with the movement, and now you're sitting between his spread legs on the couch, your bodies pushing against one another.

He flexes again and you use the movement to grind down on him, groaning into his mouth. Karkat grunts through his nose and arches up into you, and you smirk into the kiss. Karkat grinds up into you in an act of rebellion, and this leads to the two of you grinding heavily into each other as your tongues trade jabs. You pull your mouth away from his to get a better control on your breathing, still rocking against him as you move down to suck just under his jaw. Karkat's breath audibly stalls and you bite down on his neck, making him moan lowly.

You trail kisses and bites down his neck, drinking in the sounds he's making. You let go of his wrists in favor of trailing your hands under his shirt, up his smooth chest. His chest starts to vibrate, and in a distant corner of your mind you realize he's purring. His newly-freed hands rake down your back, over your shirt, leaving just enough sensation for you to want more.

You sit up enough that your chests aren't touching, and you quickly discard both of your shirts. Once they're both in some random corner of the living room, you resume your previous position over Karkat and lick up from where his bellybutton would be to his clavicle. Karkat gasps what sounds like your name, and a shot of arousal courses through you. With your shirts off, you can feel his claws scraping down your back, and the fire they leave behind only makes you want him more.

You bite the juncture between shoulder and neck, raking your dull nails along his sides, and Karkat arches into the touch. You can feel his appendages moving freely through his pants with how you're pressed against him, and fuck, you don't care if it means you're his bitch, you want that in your ass so bad.

"Karkat… Karkat. Asshole stop for a minute..." Your voice is airy as he finally stops grinding up on you and he shoots you a glare. "The fuck do you want to stop for?" You let your gaze wonder over his face. "Fuck me. Please, fuck me Karkat." Karkat's face, which was already tinged with red, is now bright with blush, his eyes dripping arousal.

Karkat grabs your shoulders, turning the both of you over so he's the one straddling you, and he grabs the hem of your pants and boxers, pulling them down to your ankles. While you try to kick them off, sending them flying across the room, he's pulling off his own, and you take a moment to stare at his crotch. The first time the two of you fucked, his multi-dick thing he has going on freaked you out, but now you know what they can do, and now all you think when you see them is how fucking hot it is and how much you want him to fuck you into the floor.

Karkat leans down, biting your lip before stealing a kiss from you, his tongue swiping at the drop of blood swelling over the cut. You groan, winding your arms around his chest and pulling him closer to you. As the two of you fight each other with pleasure, one of his appendages snakes away from the rest to wind around your already dripping erection. The feeling of the smooth member rubbing over your own has your back arching, your mouth open in a look of ecstasy. Karkat moves down to your neck, licking and sucking his way down to your clavicle, where he bites down just enough to not draw blood.

Your breaths come in heavy pants; your skin flushed a deep red as you fight to control yourself. Karkat continues to inch down your body, licking and sucking one nipple as he rolls and pinches the other between two fingers, switching when both are pert. The cold air on your damp skin makes you gasp, and his mouth on your other nipple makes you whine loudly, arching to push your chest closer to his mouth, as if being closer to him will increase your pleasure. When he remains firmly attached to your chest, you let out something like a growl and scratch his scalp, brushing harshly against a horn. Karkat bites the skin dangerously close to where he'd just been sucking in retaliation, and you buck against him, as if reminding him what he was supposed to be doing.

Karkat drags his tongue down your abdomen, giving the occasional nip at a patch of skin as he goes. At this point, his stray tentacle had relinquished its grasp on your cock and joined the others to writhe against the lower part of Karkat's abdomen. As Karkat nipped at your hips, making your breath hitch, you thread a hand through his appendages, letting them wrap around your fingers and through the spaces between them. Karkat moans from his place at your hip bone as his various members pump your fingers or push and pull between them.

Finally, blessedly, Karkat starts to dip between your legs, and just when you think he's going to stop at your balls, he travels lower and licks at your entrance teasingly. Your heart jumps in your chest and a guttural moan slips from your mouth as he begins to lick at your inner walls, stroking the sensitive skin with his almost sandpaper-like tongue. Not even a minute goes by and you're trying desperately to remain as calm as possible, your free hand scraping at the edge of the couch cushion, the other clenching and unclenching almost spasmodically around Karkat's appendages.

Just when you think the sensations are too much, Karkat sits up, settling back into his original spot between your legs. As his tentacles begin to move, you wrap your legs around his waist, pulling him as close to you as possible. One moves to wrap around your dick again and you put your hand to his chest, making him pause. You practically beg him in between pants.

"Don't…. Don't do that… I want…. I want you inside me… Completely… Fill me up. Make me your bitch…"

You open your eyes, not quite remembering when you closed them, to see Karkat's pupils blown wide with arousal and a deep blush covering his face. Just when you think he may not have comprehended what you were saying, you feel all five of his members pushing into you. It's almost too much, but it feels too good to stop, and you beg him to keep going. Each press against your walls has you gripping tightly to his shoulders, each brush against the sensitive skin has you moaning Karkat's name.

Fully inside you, Karkat begins to writhe around inside you, and your mouth stretches into a perfect 'O' as he brushes that spot inside of you. He begins to press and push at it in earnest, and you quickly become an incoherent mess, legs tightening around him and nails raking down his back. His claws scratch at your chest, your sides, your arms and shoulders and he's babbling, telling you how perfect you feel, how much of a slut you are, how you're his bitch, and you respond in kind.

"Yes… Yes… Oh God… Feels so good. You fill me so good…. I'm your bitch. I'm all yours…"

Heat builds in your gut, spreading through you until all you can think, all you can feel, is where Karkat is touching you, marking you, fucking you into the couch. You moan loudly, thrusting against Karkat, trying to get more, harder, faster. Karkat gets the message and soon he's thrashing inside of you, pounding that spot, and you see stars. Karkat kisses you roughly and you scream into his mouth, body arching off the couch as you come on your chest.

Karkat remains inside of you, and you can feel how close he is, appendages thrashing manically inside of you. You reach a hand between the two of you, and two of your fingers find his nook. He moans and grinds against you as you finger him, spreading him and thrusting your fingers in him, practically fucking him on your hand. Karkat begins to moan in earnest, his moans growing louder and his pitch rising as he gets closer to orgasm. He comes inside of you and on your hand with a loud cry of your name before he begins to relax, pulling out of you.

The two of you lay on the couch for a moment, catching your breath, and you're the first one to get up. You grab a towel from the bathroom and throw it at his head, making him yell in indignation as you walk away laughing.

You spend an hour in the shower, thinking long after you've cleaned yourself how this didn't help you with John at all.

 **A/N: So. I laughed through a lot of this because I'm ace and smut makes me laugh. Sorry if I didn't capture the spades in the moment, but I tried. Anyhow, this will in fact be several chapters long, so make sure to keep checking back here and on the facebook page for updates on the fic!**


	2. Quadrant Support

**A/N:**

 **Disclaimer: any and all usernames listed in this chapter are not associated with any existing usernames in any field, and any similarities are purely coincidence**

Since your last (and only) talk with Karkat about moiraillegiance, you've decided to get any and all advice from strangers on the internet. Because you're smart like that. You found a quadrant support and advice group, and the other members seem to be alright. Which reminds you, you haven't checked in on anyone today.

Your name is Dave Strider, and you have problems balancing your quadrants. Hi, Dave.

 **StridersGottaStride has joined Quadrant Support**

 **StridersGottaStride** yo

 **StridersGottaStride** anyone on today

 **Guru** hello Striders.

 **StridersGottaStride** told you guru its just strider

 **StridersGottaStride** anyway sup

 **Guru** how are you doing?

 **StridersGottaStride** oh you know same ol same ol just rocking the teen angst

 **StridersGottaStride** at age 21

 **Guru** now you know age has nothing to do with it, your feelings are legitimate no matter how old or young you may be.

 **StridersGottaStride** yeah i guess

 **Guru** and what, may i ask, is the cause for your emotional distress?

 **StridersGottaStride** the usual

 **Guru** express your feelings Strider.

 **StridersGottaStride** ugh right

 **StridersGottaStride** i dont know how to handle this moirail thing with john

 **StridersGottaStride** I mean its no secret im a human and even if quadrants are the norm i just dont really get them

 **StridersGottaStride** and i dont know how to go about

 **StridersGottaStride** like

 **StridersGottaStride** /telling him/

 **Guru** does John have a grasp on quadrants?

 **StridersGottaStride** i mean yeah he has a matesprit

 **Guru** i see.

 **Guru** then the issue is not that he wouldn't understand, but rather whether he would reciprocate?

 **StridersGottaStride** i guess yeah

 **Guru** well, i'd suggest that, while frightening, you confess your feelings.

 **Guru** keeping them to yourself for a long period of time will just become more painful.

 **legendary69** Guru is right, Strider!

 **legendary69** Confeeeeessssss~!

 **StridersGottaStride** oh hey legend

 **StridersGottaStride** and its easier said than done

 **StridersGottaStride** what if i fuck it up

 **legendary69** The only way to fuck it up is to not do it!

 **Guru** in that sentiment, i suppose i would have to agree with legend.

 **legendary69** Yay!

 **Guru** of course, it can also be considered a "fuck up" if you somehow use violence to get your answer.

 **Guru** but other than that, i do not believe there is any way to wrongfully confess your feelings. whether John responds in kind or not has little to do with how you go about it.

 **ConcupiscentConsultant** don forget to put a ring on it man ;)

 **StridersGottaStride** hahaha fuck off consultant

 **legendary69** They're right though!

 **legendary69** Moirails are the most common marriages! Especially since you can still only marry one person!

 **StridersGottaStride** which is cool

 **StridersGottaStride** but it doesnt help

 **StridersGottaStride** like i said hes got a matesprit

 **StridersGottaStride** and hes hella old fashioned

 **StridersGottaStride** if he was gonna marry itd be the matesprit

Your hands clench in your lap. While legend was right that most marriages were for moirails, John would want to marry the person he actually _loves_ , in the human sense. It makes your chest hurt.

 **Guru** i believe marriage may be a bit off topic, since we are simply regarding how to go about procuring the quadrant in the first place.

 **ConcupiscentConsultant** ruinin all my fun man

 **Guru** and yet i do not care.

 **legendary69** BURN! X3

 **StridersGottaStride** need some ice for that consultant

 **Guru** may we focus on the matter at hand?

 **StridersGottaStride** I guess I can just

 **StridersGottaStride** tell him

 **StridersGottaStride** whats the worst that can happen

 **ConcupiscentConsultant** meteors desecrate the earth

Your breath stops for a minute. How…

 **ConcupiscentConsultant** alligators tear ya up

 **ConcupiscentConsultant** nasa blows up ya house

 **ConcupiscentConsultant** the kid turns outta be a high blood who hates humans

Oh. He's spit-balling. Okay…

 **StridersGottaStride** just gonna lock these away for symptoms of homicidal schizophrenia

 **Guru** i think you've both made your point. Strider, does this help?

 **StridersGottaStride** yeah actually thanks

 **StridersGottaStride** gonna go get shit done

 **StridersGottaStride** see ya

 **Guru** salutations.

 **legendary69** Bye Strider!

 **ConcupiscentConsultant** later man

 **StridersGottaStride has quit Quadrant Support**

You lean back in your chair, kicking away from your desk and only getting a few inches away on the carpet. You waste a minute and thirty seconds (you checked) staring at the ceiling before you launch yourself up and across the room. Maybe you can find something to much on while you wait for John or Karkat to get home.

You haven't had a day off by yourself in ages, and it is so. Fucking. Boring. You're starting to see why John wanted a job so bad, this shit just gets old, and you've only been off two days. You grab a bag of chips out of the cupboard and plop your ass down on the couch in front of the TV. You spend about half an hour mindlessly flipping through channels before you hear a car pull up the driveway. You lean over to reach the blinds and pull them aside, peaking at the driveway to see John's car. Good, you can just get this out of the way before Karkat gets here and potentially starts another fight. Cough, cough, collar tug.

John walks in, all smiles as he spots you on the couch and sits next to you.

"Hey Dave! What're we watching?" You look at the TV and see….. Toddlers in Tiaras. Jesus fucking christ.

"I was just, yanno, flippin through shit when you walked in. Made me stop on this travesty. I knew you were trouble when you walked in." John does that thing where he laughs and a snort comes out, and you smirk. Fuck yeah, you got him.

"Oh man Dave, you're so great. Best bro I could ask for." Aaaaaaand there goes your confidence. You try not to let it show.

"Hell yeah Egbutt, I am the greatest bro you are _ever_ gonna get!" Cue sassy snapping for ironic affect.

Karkat walks in ten minutes later to you trying to calm down your best bro, who is still laughing his ass off. If looks could kill, you'd have been resurrected just to be killed a second time by the withered look he's giving you. John looks up, noticing Karkat as he wipes tears out of his eyes, and he gets up, moving to hug Karkat, still laughing somewhat.

Karkat is unamused. "Anyways, dinner will be ready in an hour." You nod and he disappears into the kitchen, followed by John.

You venture back to your room and open up the chat room site from earlier.

 **StridersGottaStride has joined Quadrant Support**

 **StridersGottaStride** couldnt do it

 **Guru** i am sorry Strider.

 **legendary69** Oh no!

 **ConcupiscentConsultant** sucks man

 **StridersGottaStride** yeah

 **StridersGottaStride has quit Quadrant Support**

You spin idly in your chair, letting your mind wonder. Karkat and John are Matesprits. Karkat and you are Kismesises…. Kismeses? And you want to be Moirails with John. Wait…. Is there some kind of…. Cross-quadranting going on? Maybe you can just… Fuck yeah, crayons. Okay.

Sounds 'bout right.

You gaze ironically at the shitty masterpiece you just made. It is so shitty. So, so shitty.

So shitty, in fact, that you are too busy deciding how shitty it is that you don't hear Karkat walk up behind you, and you don't notice him until he grabs the paper out of your hands. He just. Stares. Right at you.

"Really, Strider?"

You shrug. "Okay, so maybe the dicks weren't necessary." He raises an eyebrow at you and just shakes his head.

"I don't even – look, I just came in here to say dinner's ready. Do whatever the fuck you want, but unless you're ready to confess to John, you should probably guard your shit better." With that, he walks out of your room, leaving the paper to flutter to the floor where he stood.

You bend down slowly and pick it up, studying it for a moment. Without really thinking, you find yourself touching the shitty pink diamond, and you can't help but wonder if you'll _ever_ be ready to tell John.

 **A/N: wouldn't let me post a doc with a pic, so here's the link to the picture Dave drew**

 **you have to enter the standard https thing and then:** **scontent . fsnc1-1 . fna . fbcdn . net manually without all of the spaces before this next part because fanfiction doesnt like webpages for some reason?**

 **. /v/t1.0-9/13906689_1283585428327063_8979498087886282329_ ?oh=8161207cb4ac0420ebca0612b67e1981 &oe=584FEB37**


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